Breathe
by AvaRicious
Summary: Van calls Hitomi back to Gaea urgently. With her, is a troubled girl called Skye, who can somehow contact the dead through her dreams. Is this strange power needed on Gaea? And if so, then how could it possibly help?
1. Fractured Hearts, Fractured Worlds

Chapter One: Fractured Hearts, Fractured Worlds.  
  
~@~  
  
Skye waited quietly. Like normal. Wordless and apparently motionless, to the crowd she was almost invisible. Which to her was just peachy, she'd rather people didn't approach her if they could help it.  
  
"Next." The bland, bored voice of the girl selling the tickets. Skye stepped forward to the counter and paid, then after receiving her ticket she went and joined her friend waiting over by the ice-cream. Her friend waved and grinned, just to make sure she noticed her.   
  
Skye smiled amiably in response, "Coming, coming..."   
  
She paused and eyed the ice-cream, while her friend gave a sly smile, "Are you gonna' have some?" The smile widened into a grin, "Go on, you know you want some!"  
  
  
  
Skye knew she shouldn't. She was on a diet, after all! But... she was supposed to be having fun... she'd come this far, and she hadn't had a night out for weeks.   
  
She nodded, now decided. Time to go all out.  
  
She grinned at her friend, "You stood here deliberately, didn't you! You knew I wouldn't be able to resist."  
  
She shook her head and sighed long-sufferingly, "Oh well..." she shrugged and flashed a smile, "You win, Cathy."  
  
Cathy grinned even wider and said, "You won't be alone - I'm having some too, you know!"  
  
  
  
Laughing, Skye turned to the smiling guy serving the ice-cream and ordered a medium strawberry cone with two scoops. Cathy ordered the same - but with mint choc-chip. They paid and walked towards the woman standing before the entrance to the cinema screens and let her check their tickets. Talking animatedly to each other while they waited, the woman nodded then tore the ends of their tickets and bid them a good evening.  
  
~--- Inside Screen 1 ---~  
  
Hitomi's shoulder-length hair glinted honey-brown highlights from the bright, loud adverts playing across the large screen. She smiled and chatted to Yukari and Amano absorbedly.   
  
  
  
"So what do you think of him?" Yukari questioned Hitomi about the friend she had introduced to her earlier, inwardly hoping that Hitomi would take a liking to him and get to know him before she left. Since she was staying so long, it would be good for her to have a new friend, and, hopefully, a sweet romance abroad wouldn't go amiss, either.   
  
Two years ago, when Hitomi appeared again back on Earth, she was silent for the first few days. Yukari understood. Knew that she had to sort things out in her mind before she said them aloud. When Hitomi did, finally speak of her time on Gaea, though, Yukari was shocked... and she knew with certainty that she wouldn't have believed it -- had she not seen the pillar of light with her own eyes - and the feather Hitomi kept with her at all times.   
  
Yukari believed her, listening with utter amazement at the detail and vivid pictures of Gaea that Hitomi painted in her mind. Yes, she believed her best friend. But she couldn't understand why Hitomi hadn't been interested in a single man since she returned to Earth. Yukari had heard Hitomi speak of Van Fanel. Seen the light blush that coloured her cheeks and the love that shone in her verdant eyes when she described him to her. But surely, if he had meant that much to her... why had she come back..?  
  
~--- Walking to Screen 1 ---~  
  
Skye nodded and listened to Cathy as she described to her in avid detail the day's events. In her head though, stray thoughts kept pushing themselves into her mind.   
  
-Am I going insane..? The dreams... When are they going to stop..?- She almost shook her head before stopping herself, and dismissed the thoughts from her mind. She frowned without realising it, making a mental note to ponder this later, but for now, she was going to enjoy herself, and spend some quality time with her friend.  
  
  
  
Cathy smile gently at Skye as she frowned. She knew she hadn't heard a thing she'd said for the past minute. She stopped walking, and Skye looked at her oddly and stopped too. Cathy slowly smiled at Skye, mischieviously, and lifted her hand and poked her on the nose.  
  
  
  
"Now look here." She raised an eyebrow at Skye to make sure she was listening.  
  
Skye raised a neat eyebrow in mock reply. Cathy continued now that she had her full attention, "Whatever you're thinking about -- stop it. Do you hear me?" She eyed Skye and released her nose. She spoke slowly, to make sure that she caught each word, "You-Are-Here-To-Have-Fun. Hear me? I want a yes or no answer! -- Preferably yes." She repressed a grin.  
  
Skye laughed and nodded, "Yeah, I hear you. I promise."  
  
Cathy nodded sagely, "Good." She paused and glanced at the doors of their screen just down the hallway, "Come on, I bet the adverts are almost finished! We don't wanna miss the film."  
  
~--- Hitomi, Yukari and Amano ---~  
  
A slight trembling shook her hands as Hitomi saw a flicker of light in the corner of her eye...  
  
Frowning, Hitomi paused and raised a hand to her forehead. She whispered fearfully, "Wha... what was that..?"  
  
Yukari was busy watching the screen, but Amano, on the other side of Yukari, leaned forward slightly and turned his head concernedly to her.   
  
"Hitomi? Are you alright?"  
  
Hitomi slowly turned her head towards Amano, and as she looked up at him something incredibly disconcerting happened.  
  
As she met his gentle brown eyes, there was a bright...   
  
*FLASH*  
  
Hitomi looked into a pair of melting, true-blue eyes... as their gazes locked, Allen blinked shockedly and broke their connection.  
  
*FLASH*  
  
Hitomi gasped, and fell forward, clutching her legs. Murmuring over and over, "Why... why... why..."  
  
Yukari and Amano were speaking, trying to say something to her, but their voices were muffled. Her mind blocked them out and she reeled in the shock of seeing him again, her breathing was rapid and irregular.  
  
Yukari was hugging Hitomi tightly, holding onto her, asking gently, worriedly, "Hitomi? Hitomi, speak to me, please... Hitomi?"  
  
Slowly, Hitomi's thoughts calmed enough for her to speak, "Yukari-chan... I'm alright, don't worry." She breathed in deeply, and felt a little better.   
  
Yukari gazed at her carefully, "What happened?"  
  
Hitomi shook her head slightly and said, 'It was Allen. I saw him, Yukari. I saw him. Its been so long... why did I see him?"  
  
Yukari bit her lip, and after a pause murmured to her, "Well... are you sure it was him? You know, maybe it was just a stray memory? Or... well, maybe you just need a bit of air? Hey, I'll go with you to the bathroom."  
  
Still holding a clammy hand to her temples, Hitomi shook her head again. "No, don't worry. I'll go by myself -- enjoy the film, you can fill me in when I get back."   
  
Noticing Yukari's worried gaze, she reassured her, "Its alright, honestly. I'll be right back, I promise."  
  
She stood hastily and made her way down the steep steps of the dark cinema. She swayed slightly, and almost lost her footing at one point, but a few seconds later she found herself by the bottom near the dark double doors. The only barrier between her, and the light.   
  
The adrenaline was pounding through her system. Hitomi was on full alert, all her senses screaming... and she had no idea why.  
  
Glancing over her shoulder nervously, she stepped towards the double doors and pushed a trembling hand towards them.   
  
Simultaneously, the doors swung heavily in her direction before they could push them and she heard a girl's voice hissing, "Come on! I bet we've already missed the beginning!"  
  
And then, the door swung with a soft whoosh...  
  
She saw two feminine faces, their eyes glittering in the dim light and before she knew it, one of them shot forward as though she'd been shoved, straight into Hitomi. They both landed on the floor in a heap, and the breath was knocked out of both of them.  
  
Cathy gasped, and said, "Oh I am so sorry! I had no idea you were there! Oh, God... let me help you..."  
  
Dimly, Hitomi realised she could smell something nice. Since the girl's dark hair was strewn across her face, she figured it must be her hair. It smelt of cinnamon and some strange spices...  
  
Still trying to catch her breath, the winded girl on top of her was yanked to one side and Hitomi found herself standing again without remembering how.  
  
Still holding her hand firmly, the stranger's bright blue eyes peered at her worriedly, "You're not hurt are you? Oh, I'm so sorry, it was all my fault!"  
  
Hitomi shook her head, "No... no, I'm okay." She glanced at the other girl, who had managed to pull herself into a sitting position. "Is she alright?"  
  
Cathy glanced followingly at Skye. "Oh... Skye you know I didn't mean it... I really... I'm sorry..."  
  
Shaking her head, too, the short girl named Skye stood shakily and muttered, "Don't worry about it."  
  
Cathy looked like she was about to cry, "Please Skye, I really am sorry..."  
  
Taking in a breath to steady herself, Skye slowly calmed her anger, "Cathy. I'm fine, this girl is fine, no harm's done. Would you wait for me in our seats, though? I just want to go sort out my hair..." She raised a hand to her long, now tangled mop of hair."  
  
Now back to her senses, Hitomi piped up, "Um... I have some friends back on row... G. They're about halfway across. Their names are Amano and Yukari... I'm Hitomi... I'd appreciate it if maybe you could tell them why I'm taking a while?"  
  
Nodding brightly, Cathy smiled, "Yes, yes of course. I'm Cathy Palmer. I really am sorry about this..." She glanced at Skye standing motionlessly. "Um... I'll wait for you back there, then."  
  
Skye just nodded wordlessly, and Hitomi smiled sympathetically at Cathy while wondering why her friend was being so rude to her.  
  
Skye turned as if to leave, and Cathy followed her lead and set off towards the seats. Hitomi followed Skye through the double doors, and finally, out into the light.  
  
~@~  
  
Now that they could see properly, they could both get a better look at each other.  
  
Hitomi inhaled deeply, and felt as though she had stopped breathing up until she had come out into the light again. She felt a little better now, but the image of Allen's blue eyes and his obvious confusion set a whirl of emotions through her mind.  
  
Skye seethed inwardly. She couldn't explain her sudden change of mood, but she had, honestly, tried hard not to take it out on Cathy. She tried in vain to smooth her hair, failed, and decided to look at this Hitomi girl instead.   
  
Why did she feel so familiar to her? She had a Japanese accent... and Skye couldn't remember having ever spoken to someone like her at all in her entire life.   
  
She glanced at Hitomi and took in her appearance. She seemed nervous... continuously raising a hand to her forehead and glancing around the hallway as though she expected some kind of monster to fly in and tear down the building. Her hand was trembling.  
  
Skye watched her quietly. Hitomi was of an average height - a little taller than Skye herself. She was lean and from what she could see, quite athletic. She wore a knee-length jeans skirt and a white billowy gypsy top which revealed one pale shoulder.   
  
Her hair was shoulder length. Cut neatly, it was a natural honey-brown colour which showed golden highlights in the light. Her eyes were the most striking thing about her, though. The brightest green she had ever seen in a human, yet they seemed deep, unfathomable at the same time. The white top complimented her bright eyes and hair nicely.   
  
Skye wondered at the colour of her eyes...   
  
-How unusual for a Japanese.-   
  
Turning, Hitomi caught Skye's appraisal of her and as she took a steadying breath, and with a slight smile, returned the favour.   
  
She saw Skye's straight dark, dark hair - not black, not quite, and presumably straight. A dark, chocolate brown... with a single, thin bleached blonde streak across the right side of her head. Currently it was ruffled, from the fall she'd had with Hitomi's landing on top of her. Skye's hair cascaded half-way down her back despite its tousled appearance now.  
  
She was quite short, and 'chunky' she supposed, would be the word to describe her. She wasn't fat, but because of her height it might make her appear so if she wore the wrong style clothes. She wasn't, at this moment, however, wearing the wrong type of clothes.   
  
Black, form-fitting jeans with a slight flare at the ends covered black, moderately high-heeled boots. She wore a very pale blue top, which looked a bit odd to Hitomi, as one of the sleeves was long - whereas the other was cut straight at the shoulder. Across the right breast, in black writing, it was hard to read but she thought it said something along the lines of 'PunkyFish'...   
  
Skye had a pale complexion, and as Hitomi raised her gaze to meet a pair of puzzled mahogany-brown eyes, she realised that she was making Skye feel awkward with her scrutinizing gaze.  
  
Apologetically, Hitomi offered, "Shall we go to the toilets and clean up a bit..?"   
  
Skye raised an eyebrow slightly and nodded, "Sure."  
  
They turned and walked down the corridor in silence.  
  
~@~  
  
The light of the bathroom's was harsh. Much brighter than outside. The actual room was very big, but currently empty. Skye turned towards the loos to do her business, and Hitomi moved closer to one of the mirrors.   
  
She grimaced as she took in her wild, wary features. The 'vision' had affected her more than she'd noticed. She glanced at her hair.  
  
-Well, one thing I can fix, I suppose.-  
  
Opening her purse, she pulled out a small wooden brush. She smoothed out her hair quietly, and watched her pitiful appearance in the mirror.   
  
Apart from the gentle whoosh of the air conditioning, the room was quiet. She saw in the mirror a green plant standing in a corner behind her. In a pristine white pot, it somehow matched the rest of the starkly clean room.  
  
She peered at her hair critically. -Hmm... I guess that'll have to do.-   
  
She heard Skye flush the toilet over towards the left...  
  
And another bright FLASH enveloped her...  
  
Van. Van stood behind her. He was looking at her in the mirror. Somehow, that was still there... and she couldn't seem to turn around and face him... she gazed at his reflection helplessly and whispered, "...Van..."  
  
She felt his unruly raven hair brush her cheek as he spoke, gently, "Hitomi. I need you... we need your help."  
  
Her green eyes filled with tears, "Van? What's going on? Please, tell me what's happening..."  
  
The white grew brighter, brighter, slowly seeping over them both, "We need you to come back... there's someone else, I think..." He paused, then said urgently, "Hitomi, please! I need you to come back to Gaea!"  
  
The whiteness covered everything, then, and all she could hear was the echo of Van's voice, "...come back..."  
  
Hitomi felt her knees begin to buckle below her, and the bathroom came back in a rush. The whiteness of this room paled in comparison to the light that had enveloped her, though.   
  
Skye stood by her side, gaping.  
  
"What the hell was that? Hitomi, what just happened to you? I saw..."   
  
The realisation that Skye had seen something more than herself staring distantly in the mirror, brought her back to her senses and she managed to keep herself from fainting.  
  
Hitomi gasped at Skye, her verdant eyes wide, "What do you mean you *saw*? What did you see, Skye? Please, tell me!"  
  
Skye stepped back, feeling wary, "I saw... I saw a man. Look, he was standing just behind you, and everything was white. I couldn't hear what he was saying. Alright? I don't expect you to believe me, but I swear by my life, that I saw a young bloke with black hair dressed in weird clothes behind you." Realising she was ranting, Skye stopped abruptly and remembered to breathe.  
  
Hitomi just gaped at her. "What? You mean, you saw him? You saw Van, too?!"  
  
Skye didn't know what to say. "...V...Vaan? That's his name?"  
  
Nodding, Hitomi wasn't sure whether she was relieved or terrified. "Yes. His name is Van Fanel. And... I do believe you."  
  
Skye let out a deep sigh. Finally. She wasn't going insane. Maybe, at last, she would be able to get some answers. She sank slowly to the floor and rubbed her forehead.   
  
Grinning suddenly, she looked up at Hitomi. "Do you have a brush I could borrow?" 


	2. A Flicker Of Hope

Chapter Two: A Flicker Of Hope

~@~

                Hitomi couldn't help but smile, and obediently pulled her small black brush out of her purse and handed it to Skye. She was still speechless - mostly from shock at the knowledge that Skye... whatever she may be... was a psychic, in her own way as well as Hitomi. Frowning, she watched Skye while she neatened up her hair. 

She was so lost in her own thoughts, that by the time Skye had finished, she didn't notice her standing there staring at her, the brush upon her palm being offered back to her.

                "..Hitomi..? Helloo??"

Blinking, Hitomi started slightly, "Huh..? Um... What..?" She glanced at her brush on Skye's outstretched hand. "Oh..." She grinned. "Sorry. I'm not all here, am I?" 

As Hitomi took back her hairbrush and placed it back in her bag, Skye remarked randomly, "No... its almost as though you were on another world altogether." She smiled teasingly, but Hitomi didn't notice.

Trembling, she stared at the floor. Quietly she asked, "What do you mean, on another world? Did you see something else that you're not telling me?"

Frowning, Skye replied puzzledly, "Huh..? No, of course not. You were just so distant a minute ago, that's all. Why? Did I offend you?"

Hitomi let out a small breath, "No, no... but... I think we should go outside. You know, just to talk." She paused. "I don't know about you, but I don't feel too much like watching the movie anymore."

Skye's curiosity got the better of her, and besides, she didn't feel too much like watching the film after what just happened, either.

"Sure. I don't think I'd be able to keep focused on a film right this moment, anyway."

Her hair now back to its normal state, Hitomi noticed it was actually slightly wavy, and not completely straight as she had suspected. As she turned to leave, the single golden streak in her hair glinted in the bright light from the fluorescent tubes overhead.

Pursing her lips thoughtfully, Hitomi followed Skye outside.

~@~

The outside of the cinema was fairly quiet, or at least where they stood. The night air was cold, almost chill, and the clear sky above was dark, lit with thousands of glittering stars. The two girls shivered, both silently wishing they had gone back for their coats.

Hitomi looked up at the moon... seeing something that Skye could not discern. She turned her dark eyes upwards too, following Hitomi's gaze. She smiled at the perfectly round glowing sphere in the sky, and murmured sighingly, 'A full moon.'

'Where Van is from, the Earth hangs twinned with the moon in the sky. They call our planet the Mystic Moon. Their planet is called... Gaea.' Hitomi turned her green eyes to Skye and waited to hear her reply.

Puzzled, Skye didn't have an answer. In other circumstances, she would have been almost afraid, and would probably have thought Hitomi insane... but she had seen Van for herself. How else could he be explained?

She spoke slowly, uncertainly, 'The Mystic Moon...?'

Hitomi nodded, and her auburn hair swayed at the motion.

Skye inhaled carefully, and then continued, '...What is it, exactly, that you want? Why are you trying to explain this to me? I have nothing to do with it.' 

An awful nauseous feeling seeped into her stomach as Skye had an idea. 'Hitomi... please... tell me, what do I have to do with what's been happening?'

Skye heard her sigh, almost tiredly... and Hitomi turned her head to meet Skye's brown, intrigued gaze. 

'Van said...' She faltered slightly, then continued, 'Van said, that there was someone else. He asked me to come back to Gaea - no, he pleaded for me to come back to Gaea... and he said that there was someone else. The only other person that I can possibly think of, is you. Since you saw the... the vision I had.' Hitomi lowered her eyes finally, then added quietly, almost shyly, 'Skye... what other abilities do you have?'

Skye couldn't help herself -- she was gaping at Hitomi yet again. She stuttered, 'Whoa, wait a minute..! How do you know  that... that the person Van was referring to was me?' Hitomi opened her mouth to answer, but Skye continued obliviously. 

'...we've only just met! And as to other abilities... Well, I'm just a normal Uni student. I don't know what you mean... I don't even have any idea why I managed to see Van and you back in the bathroom...'

Skye trailed off, finally running out of things to say. She sighed deeply, and lifted herself onto a nearby wall; it was only waist-height for her. She clutched her arms, still shivering, then lifted her gaze to Hitomi finally, her expression weary, as though she already had an idea of the eventual outcome of what she was about to confess.

She began, slowly, softly, 'I...' She let out a soft sigh. 'I have dreams. Incredibly vivid dreams. Not about the future... sometimes about the past... but mostly, I have dreams about... about...' 

Hitomi watched her gently. The expression on Skye's face was one of pain, loss. She could almost see the events that were replaying themselves through her head across Skye's distraught features.

'...About dead people, animals, so far I'd assume it can be anything that I once knew in life, but died. 

'It started only a few months ago. Before that... I... hadn't experienced much death in my life. Perhaps that's why this... 'ability', if you want to call it that, has sort of surfaced. Anyway, its nothing special. I have no control over it, and whatever they're trying to tell me makes very little sense. I could explain it more... but it would only be what I _think_ happens, that is, I just haven't had enough... what? Experience? Practice? What am I supposed to call it... Experience of death, I suppose...'

Her forehead creased as she tried to think of anything else paranormal that she had experienced. Her hazel eyes were clouded, distant.

'Other than that... I hear the odd voice calling me, when I'm alone... and what happened with Van today. That's all I can remember.' She looked at the floor awkwardly, 'I've never told anyone about this before.' 

She wondered, just what exactly she was getting herself into... and whether it would mean she could leave this god forsaken place. There was nothing here that she _really_ wanted to stay for. Cathy would be alright. Her other friends would be fine. Her... foster parents... oh, they would get on just wonderful without her. She closed her eyes.

-I'm not meant to be thinking about this today. No, no, no... Let it go, forget it. Don't think about it...-

Gently, a feather-soft touch on her cheek. Wet... she hadn't known she'd been crying. She opened her eyes. Hitomi was smiling at her, very slightly, her green eyes were warm, full of compassion. 'I don't know what it is you need to escape from, Skye, but I'm afraid we'll probably be taken whether we want it or not. So, you can view it as a good thing... or maybe you'll change your mind when you get there. Either way, I don't think that we have a choice.' 

As she lowered her hand, the tear from Skye's cheek glittered, then trembled. It slid down her finger... and fell.

Simultaneously, the heavens lit up with an incredible flash of pure white. It enveloped everything... or did it? No, it surrounded only the two of them. Utterly and completely, Skye felt herself be lifted slowly, effortlessly, as though gravity just.. melted at the pure touch of the pillar of white light.

Skye gasped, scared as hell as she felt her feet clear the ground. Next to her, Hitomi merely closed her eyes, her hands clasped in front of her, upon her chest, her face showing her longing to go to this Gaea as clearly as the moon hung above them. She heard her murmur, and there was so much feeling in that one sentence, it almost made her heart hurt, 'I want to see you again, Van...'

She heard someone call her name.


	3. Another World?

Chapter 3: Another World  
  
~@~  
  
The light was so bright. It hurt Skye's eyes. She heard someone calling her name.. Cathy? She squinted carefully; there. She could see three shadowy figures running towards her and Hitomi. They shouted at the same time, 'Hitomi..!" A man's voice 'Kanzaki! Not again..!'  
  
At the sound of their voices, Hitomi's eyes flicked open, and she shouted sadly, 'Amano! Yukari! .. I'm sorry, but I have to go to him!'  
  
A quick glance at her, and Skye saw that she was crying. She whispered, 'I'm so sorry...'  
  
They were rising faster now... Skye shuddered. She wasn't too good with heights, and they were gradually getting higher and higher... she groaned as she felt her stomach lurch.  
  
~@~  
  
Cathy ran towards the pillar of light with Amano and Yukari. She didn't understand what the hell was going on, but she heard Hitomi's voice come from inside it.  
  
-Those two shadows... they must be Skye and Hitomi!-  
  
Cathy shouted, 'Skye!!' And next to her, as they ran, Yukari and Amano shouted for their friend. She was shocked when she heard Amano yell, '...Not again..!'  
  
She shook her head, dismissing it. No time. She had to get to Skye!   
  
She ran into the light, and leaped upwards to grab Skye's hand. 'Skye! What are you doing??! Come ON!'  
  
At Cathy's touch, Skye blinked and looked down at her (She was, by this time, floating almost two metres in the air)   
  
'I... I'm leaving, Cathy. I'm sorry.' She paused a minute, while Cathy whimpered; she was losing her grip on Skye's hand. Skye added, almost comfortingly, 'I don't think I'd be able to stay anyway. Even if I wanted to.' She paused again, and smiled at Cathy.   
  
'Goodbye.. you're a good friend.'   
  
And then Cathy lost her grip on her friend's hand, and as both Hitomi and Skye were swept up into the heavens, the last thing they heard was Cathy's anguished scream. And then the sky was dark again, as though the pillar of light had never been.  
  
~@~  
  
With Cathy's scream still echoing in their ears, Hitomi and Skye felt that they were flying. Neither up nor down... simply an infinite rush in all directions.  
  
Eventually, though... Skye felt herself falling. She screamed as the air rushed past her ears, buffeting her face and whipping her hair almost cruelly. The last thing she remembered was a sudden darkness, yet she was still falling. Had something gone wrong? As her eyes just managed to adjust, she realised she was alone. And all through this she was still rushing downwards, faster and faster towards the ground. She shut her eyes, and her stomach clenched with nausea.   
  
She thought: -Oh God... This can't be right...am I going to die?-  
  
So dark. She murmured to herself, and she couldn't hear the words, the wind stole them as soon as they left her lips...  
  
'...where once there was light, now, there remains only darkness...'  
  
It was a while before she formed a conscious thought again.  
  
~@~  
  
As with all those distant times before, Hitomi was carried swiftly, but gently, along the pillar of light.   
  
-Back to Gaea..' She thought nervously, -Back... back to Van. And all the others, too...-  
  
Her eyes were closed, and had remained so since she took her last glimpse of Yukari and Amano through the light. She had no idea that Skye was no longer there with her.  
  
She felt herself slow, and the benevolent light dimmed gradually as her feet touched the ground. Hitomi opened her soft green eyes as the beam silently thinned, its task, for now, accomplished. And then it vanished, in a final sputter of glowing white sparks.   
  
It was dawn. That much she could tell...   
  
A deep orange glow was slowly seeping into the sky, towards the east. As she turned to face the sun, admiring its simple beauty, Hitomi saw that she stood within some large gardens... and they seemed vaguely familiar to her. She frowned, trying to figure out where she was. She turned again, to take in her full surroundings. She almost gaped, as her gaze slowly lifted upwards, up to the magnificent castle that towered above her. She remembered now.  
  
The pillar of light had brought her back to Palas, the capital of Astoria.   
  
Among all the other questions that swirled in a confusing daze around her mind, she had one that was beginning to worry her.  
  
If she wasn't *here*... where exactly on Gaea was Skye?  
  
~@~  
  
A musty smell, and a dark, damp room, it seemed. Her entire body ached, and the right side of her head felt as though it had been hit by a sledgehammer. She couldn't seem to remember anything, and she felt way too hurt to try. She almost made an attempt to sit up, but decided against such strenuous action in her condition... and attempted to open her eyes instead.  
  
Blearily, she opened them -- or one of them, at least. She tried to open them both, of course, but the right one, along with the right side of her head didn't seem to want to stop throbbing.   
  
Her mouth was dry, and her lips sore. She barely noticed, the pain in her head was so severe. She tried to speak, but ended up spasming into a coughing fit which nearly knocked her unconscious.   
  
Cool fingers upon her forehead. A man's soft voice murmured to her; reassuring and calm. Her left eye drooped shut again, and she remembered him saying, 'Sleep. You'll be moved soon. We're almost at the palace.' And then, quieter as though she weren't meant to hear: 'I can't believe she survived a fall like that. Only barely, as it is.'  
  
She slept.  
  
When she woke, it was in a modest room, and this time she managed to open both eyes. Something felt wrong with the right one, though. It must have been high noon... the sunlight shone brightly across the square room, and across the two people that sat by a table in the corner.   
  
She turned her head carefully, to rest it upon the pillow beneath her, and faced the people by the table. They were talking quietly, and she could see that one was a man, the other... a woman? Sort of. She was... strange. She wasn't sure exactly if she was seeing right... this woman had a... a tail! And pink hair. Dark, delicate stripes -- reminiscent of a tabby cat swirled along her arms, and from what she could see, her neck and face, too.  
  
As she gazed at the cat-woman wonderingly, she noticed her ears twitch slightly, and perk upright. The strange woman turned to face her, and she could only wonder more as she met a dark-blue gaze. The cat-woman smiled.  
  
'Ah, so you're awake.'  
  
She could only blink.  
  
The man smiled at her, kindly, and suddenly, she recognised him. She gasped suddenly, 'You're Van Fanel!'  
  
This sudden outburst caused her to start coughing again, and the man only looked puzzled. She sobbed helplessly and the friendly cat-woman came to kneel beside her.   
  
She whimpered, 'What's happened to me? Why am I so hurt?' The whimper turned into a loud sob as her journey through the pillar of light suddenly came back to her, 'I want an answer, damn it! -- You brought us here --' She dragged herself to a sitting position despite the cat-woman's attempts to keep her lying down. '-You brought me and Hitomi here. I want to know why.'   
  
Skye became silent, then, as she waited for a response from the dark-haired man. Her lips set in a stubborn, thin line.  
  
The cat-woman gave up trying to coax Skye back into lying down, and slid softly back to the chair and let the man speak.  
  
She stared at him. He looked tired, though he was young. A nice tan coloured his skin, and his dark, raven hair fell carelessly across his face. His eyes were weary. A dark, troubled maroon, which had deepened at the mention of Hitomi's name.   
  
He sighed and ran his hands through his hair.   
  
He stood, and Skye blinked at how tall he was. She cringed and felt a sharp jab of pain at the base of her skull as she tilted her head to look up at him. Noticing this, Van glanced at her apologetically and brought one of the chairs to sit by her bedside. Skye watched him quietly until he spoke.  
  
'What's your name?'   
  
  
  
She would have raised an eyebrow at him automatically, but her efforts were only rewarded with a slight twitch. Her eyes filled with tears; she couldn't help it. What happened to her? Was she a cripple now? Would she ever get better or would she stay like this: A twitching bundle of bones that could barely sit upright and break down at every word.  
  
She managed to mumble; 'My name is Skye.' And then she asked pleadingly, 'Will I get better?'  
  
Van's warm gaze was filled with compassion for her, and it was almost too much to bear. He told her gently, 'Yes, you will. It may take a little time, but you'll be alright. You've already healed an incredible amount in the last few days.'   
  
He paused, as though uncertain as to whether he should say whatever he was thinking.   
  
The cat-woman spoke instead -- her voice was surprisingly pleasant. Lilting and bright, with a gentle purr beneath it all as she spoke. 'What happened to Hitomi, Skye?'  
  
Skye glanced slowly at the cat-woman behind Van, 'You... know Hitomi, too?'   
  
When the woman nodded, Skye confessed regretfully, 'I don't know what happened to her. Something must have gone wrong -- I was in the light, and everything was fine, and all of a sudden, I was alone in the dark. Falling, and falling... it felt so awful...'   
  
She shivered involuntarily as the memory of that night came back to her.   
  
Van suddenly reached forward and grabbed her by the shoulders. The look in his gaze was so intense it was scary. He demanded of her, 'Where is Hitomi? Did she fall, too?!'   
  
Skye stuttered, his sudden change of mood was muddling her already foggy brain; 'I... I... I really don't know, honestly. I think she's fine -- I mean, when the light disappeared, I could tell I was alone -- she wasn't with me anymore... and, and....I...'   
  
He was very, very close now. He stared at her face... to try to tell if she was lying?   
  
Too close..!  
  
His eyes were drawing her inwards, there was something behind them - something, something... something she had to run from! -- but she couldn't move, couldn't feel -- she could barely think.  
  
Vaguely, as though from behind a veil, she saw the cat-woman pry Van's strong hands from her bruised shoulders. She saw him suddenly blink, and his eyes changed. His hands began to tremble and he said something like, 'What have I done, Merle...' He looked dismayed, lost.   
  
Skye looked down at herself -- (Everything was so slow!) -- and she saw that her hands were twitching, her body twisting in pain, and she couldn't do anything about it.   
  
From a distance, she heard a scream torn from her pain-wracked body, 'Ryujinbito!! Azrael; he will come!'  
  
And, as before, she was pulled under by the pain, which had finally begun to overcome her. She fell into blissful oblivion.  
  
~@~  
  
Hitomi now sat inside the Queen's private chambers, upon an extravagant chair which she felt like she was going to be sucked into. She shifted slightly, trying to find a less vulnerable position, and abruptly gave up.  
  
She smiled at Millerna 'It's so good to see you again -- and Queen, no less!'  
  
Millerna smiled brightly at Hitomi 'And to you, my friend. Now, tell me what's troubling you, and perhaps I can help.'  
  
Nodding quietly, Hitomi said, 'Millerna... Van called me back here. I don't know why, or how, but he has.' She carried on, without pausing to hear Millerna's response, 'There was another girl with me. Her name was Skye. I don't know why, but I think Van meant her to come here, too.' She tilted her head, thinking.  
  
'Something went wrong, though... the pillar of light only brought her half-way. She must have fallen, somehow. I... don't know if she's even still alive. I'm not even sure if I could find her, seeing as Van has my pendant... and... I don't use my cards anymore. Even if I did, I don't have them with me.' Hitomi sighed. 'I don't know what to do.'  
  
Having listened to this overview, Millerna smiled kindly, 'Well... there's only one thing I can think of to do, then. We must contact Van, and either travel to him, or have him travel here.'  
  
And with that, she summoned a messenger to be brought forth and proceeded to write a simple letter to King Van Fanel of Fanelia, briefly explaining the situation. She wrote that Hitomi was safe, and would either travel to him, or him to her, pending his decision.  
  
Hitomi couldn't help but smile. She was going to see Van again! So many things were left unsaid... well, now she was ready to say them, no matter what.  
  
Millerna had let her have her own room, which, coincidentally, was the exact same one as she'd stayed in before, the last time she was in Astoria. She stood on the balcony now and leaned against the railing.   
  
She sighed deeply, 'Nothing to do now but wait, I guess...' She lowered her head until she felt her forehead touch the cold stone of the balcony.  
  
She sighed again.  
  
~-------------@--------------~  
  
It was now a week after the two women reached Gaea. Hitomi waited patiently for Van's messages, which took around two days to reach their destinations. They soon had a sketchy plan decided. As Skye was still too injured to travel, Hitomi would travel to Fanelia -- alone with all her old comrades from two years before... even the King and Queen of Astoria - though it took their advisors some heavy persuading to do. In the end, the very basic list would be decided as: Dryden and Millerna, Allen and Celena (since Allen refused to be separated from her), Gaddes (who followed Allen), and of course, Hitomi.   
  
If they travelled fast, and light, it would take them only three days to reach Fanelia.  
  
Skye, was a different matter altogether. Van, Merle, and the healer who tended to her were stunned at her recovery -- let alone the fall she had survived intact. Since no-one else was allowed to see her except the three, there were only rumours of the strange girl from the Mystic Moon. Some believed that it was Hitomi, taken ill - or another, new person that the King forbade anyone to even attempt to see. The people were unnerved. Especially when they heard that a band of people were to arrive within the next week. Very strange, they thought.  
  
Skye's injuries were many. Her entire body was battered. When they first found her, she was badly bruised, and had shallow cuts all along her arms. She had been lying in a bent and twisted position at the bottom of an old oak tree, unconscious when they found her. One side of her head had been swollen and purple, and the healer had feared for her sight in her right eye. Her arm was broken, and her left leg had a deep slice from her knee reaching up her thigh. That was how they had found her; a group of merchants just on their way into the recently-rebuilt city, they had taken her, and brought her to a healer. And then, of course, Merle had found her and taken her to Van.  
  
~@~  
  
A/N: I guess this is mostly an in-between update chapter. :) 


	4. And It Starts

Chapter 4 - And It Starts.  
  
~@~  
  
Four days after each person had set off to journey to Fanelia, Skye sat up in her bed, almost completely healed.  
  
Oddly, her first thought was about her clothing. Someone had changed her out of her ruined jeans and blouse, and into a thin, sort of white soft linen... nightdress.  
  
There was a free-standing mirror at the other end of the spacious room, so she tentatively eased herself off the edge of the bed, and was surprised to find she could stand. She felt a little light headed, but the throbbing ache in her temple was gone. She thought to herself sarcastically: -Goody. You're not a cripple.-  
  
Pursing her lips, she padded slowly to the mirror in her bare feet. The long white 'gown' swished around her ankles, almost touching the ground but not quite.  
  
Stopping just in front of it, Skye raised her eyes from the hem of her dress and cringed at her reflection. Her skin was a deathly pale, where normally it should have been a healthy cream. She stared at her mahogany eyes; wide and startled, and the left still slightly swollen and purple.  
  
Someone had tended to her hair and face, so she was clean, and her dark hair untangled. It fell down her back and over her shoulders in gentle waves. The blonde streak glinted softly.  
  
There was a thick-set wooden door to her left, and just as she noticed it, someone began to open it from the other side. She heard muffled voices from behind it as it began to creak open. They didn't sound happy.  
  
Skye tried to maneuver herself swiftly back into the bed, but her right leg didn't seem to want to keep up. The end result was a tall man striding into the room, with the cat-woman a step behind him. She reached for his arm, but as soon as the man saw Skye out of the bed he stopped dead.  
  
The cat-woman perfectly copied his movement, managing somehow not to walk into him (Skye didn't believe it was deliberate, she was just incredibly fast.)  
  
As he had entered the room, Skye had been trying to clamber back into the bed. Luckily, she hadn't had the chance to swing her leg up onto it yet. As the man's true-blue eyes stared at her, she suddenly became very aware of just how thin and low-cut the gown was, though that wasn't what he was staring at.  
  
He gazed at her eyes, and despite her best efforts she felt a deep blush creep up her neck and into her cheeks.  
  
Completely inappropriately, her right leg gave a warning twitch. As if to tell her it wasn't going to stand up much bloody longer so if she didn't sit down soon, it would refuse to comply any farther. As Skye glanced down at her leg, the memory of her pain, and where it was coming from came flooding back to her.  
  
Turning, she sat on the bed, and, completely ignoring the man and the cat- woman, she slung her right leg over her left and yanked up the gown - figuring that a sudden thought which chilled her so badly was far more important than strangers in her bedroom.  
  
She tried to forget they were there: -Well, they shouldn't be in here. If they have any courtesy at all they would get out. Huh.-  
  
It was almost gone completely... the deep, deep wound in her lower thigh had almost vanished to a faint scar.  
  
Just... how? How in hell could she have healed so damn fast? It must have been a week, or a little more, since...  
  
And that thought brought her back to her home. A painful memory flashed through her mind and she gritted her teeth. She refused to think about it. No.  
  
She woke from her daze then, and looked up, almost afraid of the two's response, but the cat-woman was already shoving the man out of the door. A little startled, Skye noted his golden-blonde hair that seemed to shimmer around him in the dim light.  
  
The door shut behind him, and the cat-woman turned and scowled at Skye.  
  
Her blue eyes were so intense they almost made Skye cringe. She protested, 'What? I didn't do anything!'  
  
The woman sighed heavily, and shook her head. She chided Skye, 'Just be glad it was Sir Allen that you just did that in front of, and not some vagabond who wanted to see the new woman from the Mystic Moon.'  
  
Skye blinked at her innocently 'Did what?' Inside, she was shaken. Never in her life had she been met with a stare so intense.  
  
The cat-woman just sighed again at her. 'Don't you know anything?'  
  
Skye remembered the last time she'd seen the woman, when Van had... well, she remembered that he had called her Merle. Was that her name?  
  
She asked the feline woman with the pink bangs, '...are you called Merle?' Then without thinking she added, 'And who is Allen? Is he a Knight?'  
  
Merle frowned at her and walked slowly to the edge of the bed. 'How do you know my name? You've been asleep, all this time, except that... once.'  
  
She sat down carefully on the bed, curling her almost-floor-length dress under her.  
  
Skye spoke, 'I just remember Van calling you Merle, that time... when I...' She shrugged, trying to avoid saying it out loud, '...When my body went... weird.'  
  
Yeah, that was adequate. It was more like an epileptic fit that she should have died from.  
  
Merle peered at Skye's face ponderingly, her dark eyes uncertain, 'Are you really from the Mystic Moon?' She paused. 'Hitomi never healed as fast as you.'  
  
Selfconciously touching her fading scar through her nightdress, Skye replied without looking at Merle, 'Yeah, I'm pretty sure.' Then to change the subject, 'Did you find Hitomi yet? Is she alright?'  
  
Not missing Skye's avoidance of the mention of her home, but deciding not to push the subject, she smiled, 'Yes! The Queen of Astoria - Millerna, sent us a message a week ago. Hitomi arrived there, and was worried about you, Skye.'  
  
Skye considered this. 'So... what did you say to Millerna?'  
  
Choosing her words carefully, Merle replied, 'We sent a message back to Astoria saying that you were with us, being tended to by a healer. Something had gone wrong when you were transported here -- it seems you fell from the light, and into part of the forest surrounding Fanelia.'  
  
At Skye's blank look, Merle added, 'Fanelia - the country you are in now. Lord Van is Fanelia's King.'  
  
Skye rubbed her temples lightly, 'Oh. Okay... so... I must have still been unconscious then. Has Millerna or Hitomi sent a message back?'  
  
Merle walked to the wooden window frame and leaned against the wall next to it. She gazed out at the sky for a moment. Her gaze following Merle, Skye noted that it must be afternoon.  
  
Merle finally answered with a barely hidden smile, 'Oh, yes. They told us that they would be travelling here - that they were leaving a day after the message was sent to us. In fact...'  
  
She turned to face Skye, grinning, 'Three of them are here now! Arrived just yesterday. The rest are expected in about two or three days. I don't suppose Hitomi's told you about all of them -- but I'll tell you anyway!' Faintly amused, Skye didn't get a chance to interject as Merle reamed off a list of names and a short background for each.  
  
'First there's Hitomi! Well - you know her already - I understand that you'd only just met before you came here? Uh, well I guess it would be better if she told you her story when we're all together. Yeah.' Merle nodded to herself thoughtfully, then launched into another short burst excitedly,  
  
'Millerna's here too - um, well, I guess that's Queen Millerna. She was only crowned just two months ago, when her father, King Aston died. She's here with her husband, Dryden.' She winked at Skye. 'Yeah - that's King Dryden to you. Though I expect he'll tell you to call him just Dryden when you're introduced.'  
  
As soon as Merle stopped to take a breath, Skye thought she might as well ask --  
  
'That man with the blonde hair. You said his name was Allen? Who's he?'  
  
With a faint sly gleam in her eyes, Merle snickered, 'Sir Allen? He's one of the Knight Caeli. He's brought his younger sister here with him. Celena. There's a loooong story behind that girl.' She drawled.  
  
Skye asked the cat-girl flatly, no happy pretence, 'Why were you arguing outside my room? He came in... without even knocking. You probably don't think me much of one for manners, but what he did wasn't exactly polite, was it?'  
  
Merle's brow creased - she hadn't realised Skye had heard them outside the room. 'Well... you see, I tried to stop him coming in here, but he just wouldn't listen, I'm sure if he hadn't believed... that you were a... a -' She said the next word in a barely audible voice '- fake, then he wouldn't have barged in like that. Honestly Skye, he's normally a perfect gentleman.' She coughed quietly, '...most of the time.'  
  
Skye hadn't heard anything after the word fake. She stood stiffly, incensed, 'What the hell do you mean, a fake?!' She practically yelled at Merle, but inwardly, she didn't really care.  
  
Trying not to drag her still-bad leg, she stalked over to the room's wardrobe, which appeared to be made out of some kind of strong wood, though it hadn't been stained or varnished and looked almost brand new.  
  
Merle tried to speak, but she wouldn't let her. She carried on angrily, 'A fake! I am no such thing! I never asked to brought to this bloody planet -- ' She repeated herself, and distantly noticed that she should shut the hell up '-- especially not to be half killed almost into a cripple and dragged to a strange place to be yelled at while still only semi-conscious and delerious, and to wake up, basically miraculously healed, and be called a bloody god damned FAKE!'  
  
During her little rant, she had succeeded in dressing herself in her underwear (yeah, that includes her bra), socks, black jeans (which someone had considerately cleaned and mended) and a white simple shirt of some soft material with sleeves down to her elbows that she'd found in one of the drawers.  
  
Through her venting, Merle had fallen silent, and now stood by the bed behind her. She hadn't tried to help her dress, probably knowing that she only would have been pushed away. Now she'd calmed down a little - or at least, she'd decided to shift her anger in the direction of the person she felt deserved it most.  
  
Gritting her teeth, Skye glared at the air in front of her, -That arrogant sonofabitch.-  
  
In her mind, the chilling fall in the dark sky was repeating itself.  
  
The instant she hit the ground - the immense pain - the ride in the cart, every single bump and jolt tearing apart her nerves and broken body - the second time she woke up from her delerium, and Van gripped her so hard - and finally, her pain-wracked body, her body twitching beyond her control...  
  
Skye turned, and stolidly did her best to not limp towards the door.  
  
------  
  
A/N: I know this may look as though its gonna be an Allen bashing fic, but I assure you -- it is not. I guess that disappoints the Allen-bashing- lovers... :P Please let me know in a review what you think so far! Any suggestions would be great, too. 


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